"The burden of mental illness on health and productivity in the United States and throughout the world has long been profoundly underestimated. Data developed by the massive Global Burden of Disease study, conducted by the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and Harvard...
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She has appeared on CNN, Fox, NBC, NPR, the New York Post, The Saturday Evening Post, and Nylon Magazine and has traveled the country, speaking to a wide range of audiences about mental health. Lizzie has co-produced the MTV documentary True Life: I'm Bipolar, and has written mental health pieces for Time, CosmoGirl, and BP magazines. She is a founding member of the Leadership 21 Committee of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. It was our pleasure to hear Lizzie’s thoughts on leadership and mental health.
Where did you learn your most valuable lessons on leadership? Well, funny enough, I think I learned a lot from my cousins. We were very close growing up and I was always very strong willed. I had a lot of ideas and had no problem speaking my mind. My cousins also had amazing ideas, but they were on the shy side, and weren't as verbal. I think I learned how to listen from them. I learned that the chattiest people aren't always the Most Valuable Players and that quieter people need to be listened to, and led, differently.
Who has been the most influential leader in your life? My parents were the most influential leaders in my life. They gave me a lot of freedom and trusted me to lead myself. I think when you're growing up, and through your twenties, leaders and mentors are so important. Eventually this thing happens where you realize that your leaders and mentors are just as flawed as you are, and that the only way to grow is to look inward often, and to always stay open to learning. I was heavily influenced at a young age by the work of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr., but now, I think politically and culturally, we're in a crisis of leadership.
Tell us about your experience with the mental health advocacy. I came to mental health advocacy the hard way. When I was seventeen years old, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. At that time, there was little information available for me and my family. We suffered three times together: because of the illness, because of the mental health care system, and because of the myths and misinformation about mental illness in American culture. At the age of 23, I traveled across the country to interview people with bipolar disorder who had successfully managed their illness. I wanted to write the very book that my family and I desperately needed when I was seventeen. I feel inspired to share what I know, to co-create no stigma zones with my audience in which mental health can be discussed freely, and to learn more. I believe that there is a huge chasm between what is known about mental health and what regular people need to know about mental health. I believe that stigma, myths and misinformation about mental health, creates this chasm. It is in our minds, our families, and our communities; it is broadcast through the media and Hollywood, and institutionalized by our government. I believe that stigma prevents people from seeking, following, and affording mental health care. My mission--which is wellness, for me and everyone around me, is both personal and political. Freedom demands mental health.
Why is mental health awareness an important topic for college-aged women? Depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, eating disorders and substance abuse are all very common in college aged women. If a woman in college does not suffer from one of these things, chances are a friend of hers will.
For more information on Lizzie please visit:
www.lizziesimon.com